All posts tagged: Community

Sara is a super busy single mom of three kids. Beyond the daily madness of raising her children, Sara also has a part time job as an in-home health care provider. She was looking for a way to put a bit more cash in her pocket and heard about Fluid Market truck share. Sara joined the community as a lender about eight months ago and is now earning hundreds of extra dollars every month.

“Fluid Market has definitely become my favorite side hustle,” said Sara. “I’m making reliable cash by renting out my Ford F-250 pickup truck at least once per week. The best part is that lending my truck on Fluid Market requires almost none of my time — I’m simply managing my reservations through the mobile app and it couldn’t be easier.”

So how does Sara do it? First, she posted up pictures and a brief description of her vehicle via the Fluid Market app. She then set the rate at $6 per hour or $32 per day with unlimited mileage, a big plus for borrowers. Finally, Sara promotes her vehicle on Facebook, Nextdoor, and OfferUp to generate more visibility in the greater Denver community. Through this simple process, Sara is earning on average $500 in extra income per month by renting out her truck.

In addition to the profitability of her side hustle, Sara has made lasting connections in the community, as several of her regular renters use her vehicle to transport donations for local schools, homeless shelters, and others in need.

“As a Coloradan, there’s nothing better than to see my community helping each other out,” said Sara. “And as a mom raising her kids here, it absolutely makes my day to know that I’m contributing in a small way to strengthening our community ties.”

“Why would I pay $18K for a company to move us from Virginia to Denver, when I could buy a box truck and do it myself cheaper?” Fluid Market’s founder, James Eberhard asked me. He and his family needed to relocate, but the moving fees were outrageous — as a DIY man, he decided to buy a box truck himself for $15K and pay a few contractors to help him with the heavy lifting. (Needless to say, his wife wasn’t very happy when he arrived home with this new toy — but that’s a whole other story.)

Once he got situated in Denver, he still had the box truck on his hands — instead of selling it, he decided to rent it out on his app, Fluid Market. For those who don’t know, Fluid Market allows you to make income off renting vehicles to your neighbors. Users can rent out anything from a pickup truck to a Tesla Model X — and they can offer it to borrowers for a hourly, daily, or weekly rate. Within the first 100 days he was in Denver he rented it out 50 times, at $75/day. He paid the box truck off within the first year, and continued renting it out after his payoff for profit.

Ironically, the moving company that helped James move into his Denver home ended up renting out that box truck to start their moving company. They couldn’t afford the cost of purchasing their own truck, so with the protection of Fluid Market’s insurance, rented the box truck for their jobs going forward. From there James purchased a few more box trucks (and convinced others to join him), and built Fluid Market into what it is today — a place where you can rent just about any type of vehicle or tool.

How can you also start making $1200/month on a box truck? It’s a lot easier than you think. Here’s how you can get started:

Research Craigslist for 14′ to 24′ box trucks, or reach out to local branches of truck companies (like Penske or Uhaul) if they’re planning on selling any used trucks. The average purchase price is anywhere from $8K to $20K — once you list it on the app, you can rent it for $40 — $100/day to pay it off within the year.

List the truck on the app — add photos, a description with specs, and your hourly/daily/weekly rates.

Park the truck near an Amazon Fulfillment Center (for Amazon Flex Drivers to use), storage facility, or around your neighborhood (you’d be surprised at how many neighbors need to use it!).

Fluid Market’s team is here to help: They provide their lenders with tips to promote their vehicles, where to find vehicles to purchase, and other lender tips to get your side hustle off the ground. They will also provide you with a tracking device and lockbox for autonomous lending!

Get started today by downloading the app, creating a user profile, and listing your vehicle.

This is the first installment in our “Side Hustle Thursday” series, Fluid’s top tips on how to make money throughout the year. Stay tuned monthly for more!

You and your neighbors all have one thing in common: You have a ton of stuff in your garage or storage unit that you rarely use. What a waste, right? With Fluid, you can start making money instantly on your stuff, by renting it out to people in need. By doing it through the app, it’s insured and safely processed through our platform. What are you waiting for?

This month, we want to showcase an item that can make a hefty chunk of money on Fluid: Folding tables and chairs.Whether it’s family and friends visiting from out of town, a holiday party, or even a work event, its safe to say we could all use some extra sitting room. Check out this business case below to see the breakdown of how much people are making off their tables and chairs!

Fall is here! With the golden leaves and chillier weather, it’s one of our most beautiful seasons. Fall is also when your yard becomes a messy pit of leaves, sticks and other debris. Not only do we have to keep our yards clean, we also have to prepare our lawns for the upcoming winter.

Are you ready for fall? If not, Fluid’s here to catch you. Here are three essential tools for fall clean up or winter prep – and there’s no use in owning them if you can rent them for cheap on Fluid!

Meet Jared, one of Fluid’s avid users. He’s an audio producer, blogger and musician who uses Fluid primarily to rent video and audio equipment for his business! We spoke with Jared to learn a little bit more about his experience with Fluid, and how Fluid helps him and his business save money.

Every month, we feature one of our awesome Fluid team members. This week, meet Fluid’s Business Development Manager, Andrew!

You always know when Andrew’s arrived at the office because he has the biggest presence. His booming voice, his giant smile – and his mustache is pretty epic. He started in BD just a few weeks ago, but is already killing it.

Andrew took some time to sit down with us and chat New England, Vonnegut, and Lyft. Check out his fun facts, below!

1. What’s your favorite thing about Fluid?
Nobody says, “that’s not my job.” It’s great to work for an organization where your teammates are more interested in group performance than on individual success. A rising tide floats all boats. Fluid is a great example of that.

2. Where are you from?
I’m from Boston, so I am a proud New Englander. If you want to hear what it’s like to win 10 Championships between your 10th birthday and your 27th, give me a call. We can talk about how Tom Brady is the greatest QB to ever play the game.

3. What do you like to read?
I’m a voracious consumer of print news: Times, WSJ, the Economist. I love following the butterfly effect of geopolitics. For example, how legislation in one part of the world, thousands of miles away, could trigger currency devaluations, or spark negative consumer sentiment, or boost popular support on a trade initiative back home. It’s wild how interconnected everything is.
If I’m reading fiction, I’m probably buried in something by Vonnegut or Hemingway.

4. What is your favorite app, other than Fluid? (;
Lyft – I’m a big proponent of products that make things easy (which is why it’s so great to work at Fluid). So when I want to go someplace in the city without having to drive, which is fairly often, Lyft is my go-to.

5. Describe yourself in three words.
Ginger. Entertaining. Analytic.

We are excited that our team continues to grow- check our our careers page to see what positions we’re hiring for!

Also, connect with us on social media @fluidmarket to stay updated with Fluid news, content + app/feature updates!

Meet JoAnna, one of Fluid’s 5 star users – here she is above, standing in front of her beautiful garden with her rototiller and prized chicken! She’s a member of the Highlands community, and has been renting out various things on Fluid since we first launched. We spoke with JoAnna to learn a little bit more about how her experience with Fluid!

Every month, we feature one of our awesome Fluid team members. This week, meet Fluid’s Frenchie, Doug!

You’ve seen him in our job descriptions, our Instagrams, and now he’s wriggled his way into a blog post… meet our French Bulldog, Douglas! You can catch him chasing ice cubes, basking in the sun, or hot-boxing the office with his awful gas. But we always forgive him because… well, just look at that face!

Doug took some time from his super busy schedule to answer some fun fact questions for us. Check them out, below!

1. What’s something most people wouldn’t know about you?
That I purposefully gulp a lot of air when I drink water so I can let out the stinkiest farts next to people. Sometimes I’ll walk up next to people and fart. Then I’ll walk away nonchalantly like nothing happened. There’s no pleasure in farting when there is no audience.

2. What’s a secret talent of yours?
Definitely my ability to fart. It’s true, I can crop dust the entire office and people still think I’m cute. Nobody can resist me – nobody!!

3. What’s one thing on your bucket list?
I’d like to date Emily the other office dog, but I don’t think she notices me yet. Okay, maybe I annoy her sometimes. Seriously, what do I need to do to get noticed. :’-(

4. What’s your favorite thing about Fluid?
I like the hugs and ice cubes. Unlimited ice cubes for the win! I’m the company therapy dog through and through. Seriously though, the atmosphere is very chill and everybody loves me – except Emily :’-(.

5. Who do you look up to/your biggest influencers?
Me, I’m so awesome! I mean how could you not like me?

Connect with us on social media @fluidmarket to stay updated with Fluid news, content + app/feature updates!

Meet Laura, one of Fluid’s 5 star users – here she is above, standing in front of her Fluid shed! She’s a member of the Berkeley/Sunnyside community, and has been renting out various things on Fluid since we first launched. We spoke with Laura to learn a little bit more about how her experience on Fluid has been, and how much money she’s made!